The Other Summer
by EllyWrites
Summary: Ron and Hermione's time at Grimmauld place over the summer before 5th year is probably the longest we go without knowing what is happening to them. This is my take on how they spent their summer together. *Fluffy moments, dramatic ones, some jealousy for good measure. 3rd person, Hermione's perspective, Ron/Hermione, hints at Lupin/Tonks. Good to read between GoF & OoTP.*
1. The Firewhisky

Hello!

First things first: this is the first fic I've written since I was about 13 (20 now!), so I apologise in advance if I'm a little shaky. It's also the first Harry Potter fic I've ever written, as I've always been too scared that I wouldn't do such a wonderful story justice. However, I couldn't keep these ideas contained in my head anymore, so I had to get them down. It starts a little slowly, as of course Hermione needs collecting and everything needs explaining to her, but it soon becomes incredibly Romione focused! (And the following chapters are too!)

So, without further ado, here is chapter 1 of _The Other Summer_.

* * *

Hermione Granger was sitting in her bedroom, scouring the latest issue of the _Daily Prophet_ , when she was interrupted by a tiny owl pecking eagerly at her window. She tossed the newspaper to one side and ran straight over to let him in. She'd been home from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for just under a week, but with barely any contact with the wizarding world since then, it had felt like much longer. This was especially due to the fact that shortly before she came home, the notorious dark wizard, Lord Voldemort, had come out of hiding and murdered a pupil from her school whilst attempting to murder her best friend, Harry Potter. The newspaper hadn't mentioned it at all, and any mention of Harry was purely negative. She tore open the scroll of parchment attached to the owl's leg, and was pleased to see it was from her other best friend, Ron Weasley.

'Dear Hermione,

Hope you're doing ok. I just wanted to write and let you know that dad came by earlier to put some protective charms on your house. The thing is though, I don't know if it's enough. I know you've not even been home for a week yet, but you're not safe there. And I'm sorry to say it, but neither are your mum and dad with one of Harry Potter's best friends living under their roof. The sooner you can come and stay with us the better. You'll have adult witches and wizards around to protect you and your parents will just be two muggles, no more likely to be targeted than any others. Also there's a lot going on here that I can't mention in a letter and, to be honest, I'm sick of only having Fred, George, and Ginny to talk to about it. Let me know.

From Ron.'

Pigwidgeon, Ron's tiny and rather excitable owl, flew around Hermione's bedroom practically bouncing off the walls whilst she read the letter he had just brought to her. He began to fly towards the window, very pleased about his successful delivery.

'Pig, wait. Will you take a response to Ron for me please?' Hermione called after him.

Pig looked like there was nothing he'd rather do in the world.

She would miss her parents, but already she was feeling out of the loop, scared that anything could be going on and she wouldn't know. She also knew that, for now at least, it would be safer for her parents without her around. And, despite everything, she couldn't quell the excitement that a letter from Ron practically demanding that she go to him stirred inside her. He seemed so worried about her, and honestly, she couldn't wait to see him. She poured some water into a bottle cap for Pigwidgeon before picking up her quill and some parchment.

'Dear Ron,

I know. It makes sense. I'd offer for my mum and dad to bring me, but there's not much point wasting time being polite when the situation is as it is and your parents could collect me practically instantly. Let me know when and I'll be ready.

Hermione.

P.S. Please thank your dad for casting the protective charms.'

She felt like it sounded too short, and hastily added 'love from' before 'Hermione', hoping Ron wouldn't read too much into it. Of course he wouldn't. She often signed her letters with love, even to Harry. Besides, she was rather certain that she could practically scream 'I love you!' in Ron's face and he'd still remain oblivious to how she felt about him.

She attached the note to Pig's leg before taking him to the window, and watched him fly away until he was just a speck in the distance.

* * *

'I'm sorry, mum,' Hermione said for what felt like the millionth time. It was the following day, and she and her mother were waiting by the fire in the living room for Ron and Mr Weasley to arrive and collect her.

'No, don't be silly darling. You need to be around your friends and people who understand you, who can help you with homework and that sort of thing.' Her mother gave her a forced but kind and understanding smile.

Her parents always helped her when she was at primary school, and she knew it must upset them that they couldn't help her now. And although they tried their best to hide it, she knew they felt inadequate. It must be difficult to have a daughter who exists in practically a different universe to you. She almost wished she could tell them that the real reason she was leaving was because of Lord Voldemort, but unsurprisingly, she figured that would probably just make things worse.

'I know, but I'll still miss you,' Hermione said, resting her hand on her mother's arm.

'We'll miss you too darling. We always do.' She pulled Hermione into a tight hug which, as always, felt like she was trying to inject enough love into to make up for missing out on so much of her daughter's life. 'Ron and his dad should be here any minute,' she said, checking her watch as she pulled away.

As if on queue, the flames in the fireplace roared green, and a balding, bespectacled man stepped out of the fireplace.

'Hello, Hermione!' Said Mr Weasley.

'Hi, Mr Weasley,' Hermione smiled.

As Arthur greeted Hermione's mother, the flames roared again, and a freckled face and lanky body followed a mop of red hair out of the fireplace and tumbled onto the living room floor.

'Ron!' Hermione exclaimed. It was such a relief to see him that it took everything in her not to run over and hug him, but she didn't want her mother to believe that things in the wizarding world were anything other than safe and harmonious. So instead she settled for a smile, which, after righting himself, Ron returned, relief evident on his face too.

'Sorry, Mrs Granger, it seems we've got some soot on your rug,' Mr Weasley said, pulling out his wand before waving it over the patch of soot on the carpet, causing it to vanish.

'Goodness me, if only cleaning was always that simple!' Hermione's mother laughed.

'Ah but you muggles have vacuum cleaners don't you? Powered by _eclectricity_? Marvellous invention…' Mr Weasley began, his eyes lighting up.

'I'll go and get my things,' Hermione said smirking at Ron; neither wanted to be part of the conversation that was inevitably going to take place about the intricacies of hoovers.

'I'll help you,' Ron added hastily and followed Hermione out of the room and up the stairs. As soon as they entered her room, she launched herself into his arms so hard that he had to take a step back to steady himself.

'Blimey, Hermione!' He laughed as she pulled away.

'I'm sorry; I've just been so worried about you! And Harry. How could I not be?' She told him.

'How do you think I've felt? You've been here! I mean, your parents are lovely and all, but they'd have even less of a clue what to do if You-Know-Who came knocking than mine would. Seriously though, the sooner you're with us, the better.'

Hermione smiled at the concern Ron was showing for her and a blush spread across his face as he quickly changed the subject.

'Wow I'm jealous, your room's massive!' He said looking around. 'A double bed as well!'

Hermione frowned at him as he threw himself down onto her quilt, messing up her perfectly made bed.

As she tried to persuade Crookshanks into his carry basket, Ron got up and busied himself looking around her room and prodding all of her muggle belongings. The only magic thing he could see was a moving photo on her bedside table of the two of them with Harry - all of her other magical possessions were in the sizeable case at the foot of her bed. In the photo, Ron had his arm around Hermione while she blushed furiously, and Harry was trying to stifle a laugh. Hermione noticed that he was looking at it and tried to avert his gaze. They had important things to talk about anyway.

'So, what's been going on?' She asked, as she placed Crookshanks's basket on the bed, accepting that he wasn't going to willingly get into it anytime soon. 'I've been getting the _Daily Prophet_ but there's nothing other than sly digs at Harry.'

'Can't really say much here; anyone could be listening. And in all honesty I don't know a great deal myself,' Ron said. This wasn't exactly the answer she was looking for, but she understood.

'What about Harry? Has he come to stay with you yet?' She asked, concern evident in her voice.

'He has to stay with the Dursleys. I know-' he said, seeing the confused look on Hermione's face. 'Dad says Dumbledore has his reasons and he's safest there.'

'Harry's going to love that.' She frowned, but accepted that if Dumbledore thinks it's for the best, it must be. 'Has there been any sign of You-Know-Who? Like I said, the _Prophet_ has been useless, but I thought maybe your dad or Percy, being at the ministry-'

'Don't even get me started on Percy,' Ron scowled. Hermione wondered what on earth he could mean by that. 'But no, no sign of You-Know-Who yet, that I know of. Look, we'll talk more when we get home… Well, to mine that is.'

Ron picked up her case and Hermione scooped up Crookshanks in one arm, his empty carrier in the other. She gave her room one last glance as she closed the door.

They arrived downstairs to her mother attempting to explain the postal service to an enthralled looking Mr Weasley.

'Oh there you are, darling,' Mrs Granger said, seemingly relieved at the excuse to stop the conversation.

'Ah, got everything then Hermione?' Mr Weasley asked, standing up and heading towards the fireplace.

'Yes, I think so,' Hermione replied as she and Ron went to join him. 'Well. Bye then, mum.' She hugged her mother, squashing Crookshanks between them.

The sound of the front door flying open startled all of them, and Mr Weasley and Ron drew their wands, aiming them at the entrance to the living room.

'Have I missed her? Have I missed her? Bloody work!' Said a smart but slightly dishevelled looking man as he came tumbling into the room.

'Dad! I was just about to leave.' Hermione gave her father a huge smile as he pulled her into his arms. She was so glad he'd made it back in time. Ron and Mr Weasley tried to discretely put their wands away so as not to worry Hermione's parents, but they were too busy saying goodbye to their daughter to notice anyway.

'Come on Ron, we'll go first,' said Mr Weasley as he stepped into the fire, giving the Grangers a sad smile.

'See you in a minute, Hermione. Nice to see you Mr and Mrs Granger,' said Ron as he pulled Hermione's case into the fire after his father.

'Well. I'd better get going too,' said Hermione, giving both her parents a final hug. 'I promise I'll write all the time.'

'You better had, young lady!' Her father joked, trying to hide the sadness he was clearly feeling. Hermione took a pinch of the floo powder Mr Weasley had left for her, and stepped into the fireplace.

'Goodbye,' she said one last time, before calling out 'The Burrow!' She watched her parents and her living room vanish before her eyes, and seemingly morph into a few of the Weasleys sitting in their kitchen.

'Hermione dear!' Mrs Weasley pulled her into a tight hug before she could even fully step out of the fireplace.

'Good afternoon, Mrs Weasley,' Hermione smiled as she let Crookshanks onto the floor. She looked around her and felt immediately at home. Everything from the crocheted blanket tossed over one of the dining chairs, to the pile of freshly laundered hand-me-downs, brought a smile to her face. It was a stark contrast to her middle class muggle home, but she loved it. As much as she would miss her parents, she was always happy at The Burrow.

'Alright, Hermione?' Fred called to her with a wink. She could've sworn she saw Ron scowl at him.

'Come on, let's take your bag up,' Ron said, giving her a gentle push towards the staircase.

'Are you sure you're ok with my case?' She asked him as he dragged it up the stairs.

'Yeah, of course,' he said, though slightly out of breath. 'Totally fine.'

When they reached the first landing, there was a loud crack. Hermione nearly fell backwards and Ron almost dropped her case back down the stairs as Fred apparated in front of them.

'Alright, Hermione?' He said again with another wink. She was too busy recovering from the shock to respond.

'Fred and George passed their apparation tests _and_ they can do magic away from school now, so they show off by disapparating everywhere,' Ron explained, throwing his brother a dirty look.

'Not showing off little brother, simply saving time. Time is money you see. Which is why you should stop wasting _your_ time letting Ron drag your case up the stairs Hermione, when _I_ could just do _this_.' He pointed his wand at Hermione's case, and it shot past them and up the stairs before coming to a halt outside Ginny's bedroom door. 'You're welcome,' he said, before continuing to the bedroom he shared with George.

Ron muttered an insult under his breath that Hermione didn't quite catch, before carrying on up the stairs. Hermione followed him, suppressing a smile at his annoyance with his older brother.

Ginny was sat on her bed writing in a notebook when they entered her room, and she greeted Hermione enthusiastically. Hermione was pleased to see her too. That was another thing she loved about the burrow: all the people. As an only child, she had often wondered what it would be like to have siblings, and as much as Ron complained about them, she knew he was glad to have them.

'I was going to ask mum if you could stay in my room with me and Harry,' Ron said, taking Hermione's case from the doorway and depositing it at the foot of a camp bed as the girls hugged each other, 'but it feels a bit of an awkward question. Especially since Harry isn't here yet. So you're stuck with Ginny again I'm afraid.'

'Oh thanks, Ronald,' Ginny said, throwing a balled up bit of paper from her notebook at his head. Hermione tried to hide the blush that spread across her face at the thought of sharing a room with Ron, and the disappointment that she wouldn't be able to.

'Don't worry; I get sick of them after spending all day with them. I couldn't imagine being stuck with them all night too,' Hermione said to Ginny as the two of them laughed. Though in reality, she did sometimes feel left out that the boys got to stay together and she didn't.

'Well anyway, let's go upstairs,' Ron said heading out of the bedroom.

'I've barely had chance to say hello to her yet!' Ginny complained as Hermione followed Ron. Ordinarily, she would've stayed to talk to Ginny for a minute, but she was too desperate to find out from Ron what she'd missed over the past week. She was about to assure her that they'd catch up later, but Ron closed the door before she had chance, calling 'Shut up, Ginny,' as he did so.

'Honestly Ronald, you should try being a little nicer to your sister,' she said as she followed him up the stairs.

'Nah, she knows I'm only joking,' he replied, holding the door to his room open for her.

Her eyes were immediately assaulted by the bright orange walls. She was fairly certain that Ron had outgrown his choice of room decor, but had to deal with it as his parents couldn't afford to redecorate. They'd barely sat down on his bed before she demanded that Ron tell her everything he knew.

'You've heard of the Order of the Phoenix, right?' Ron asked her.

'Yes. They were a secret society of wizards dedicated to fighting You-Know-Who last time he was at large. Harry's parents and your uncles were members, weren't they?' Hermione said.

'Yeah. I don't know why I even asked if you know. What don't you know?' Ron rolled his eyes at her. 'But anyway, they've reformed. They've had to as there's no official action. You've seen the _Prophet_ ; Fudge isn't doing anything.'

'Yes, I've seen it.' Hermione frowned. 'What's he playing at? Is he just scared?'

'Dad reckons he's worried Dumbledore's making it all up because he's after his job,' Ron told her.

'That's ludicrous!' She exclaimed.

'We know that! Well, most of us do. Percy's being a proper git. He's only gone and taken Fudge's side.' Ron looked like he had a sour taste in his mouth.

'No!' Hermione was shocked. She had always quite liked Percy, and she was disappointed to hear that he was being so stupid.

'Yep. He got a promotion didn't he. Expected us all to be proud, but obviously we weren't. Then dad made it worse by saying he was only given the position so the Ministry could spy on us, which lets face it, is probably true. This was the other night and he's not been home since. It keeps making mum cry. That's what's pissing us off the most. Who does he think he is?' Ron said bitterly.

'That's terrible,' Hermione said. 'Well, he'll be proved wrong soon enough. Fudge too,' she added darkly.

'Yeah. Shame it'll take the rise of the darkest wizard of all time to do it,' Ron said dryly. 'But anyway, the Order. We've had all kinds of people in and out of here. A bunch of aurors. Even Professor Lupin.' Hermione was pleased to hear this; she had a soft spot for Lupin. He was the only Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher she'd had to date who had appreciated her intelligence.

'Isn't that a bit risky?' she asked. It must look a little suspicious to see aurors going back and forth everyday. It could easily put the Burrow at risk.

'Yeah, which is why we aren't staying here. Apparently they're working on a headquarters for the Order instead. I don't know much about it because the place they're thinking of is guarded by the Fidelius Charm, so no one can tell us anything, but I do know that we're moving there at some point for the rest of the holidays.'

'Moving there?' Hermione asked.

'Yeah. It's the Order's headquarters but it's also going to be a kind of safe house. Until the Ministry pull their heads out of the sand, we've got to take protection into our own hands.'

This made sense, Hermione supposed, but she also knew that they couldn't just hide. The Order must be taking some sort of action, and she was incredibly interested to know what.

'Do you know what the Order's plan is? For dealing with You-Know-Who I mean?' She asked.

'Not a clue. Fred, George, Ginny, and I are banished upstairs every time someone from the Order comes round. We're 'too young' apparently. Feel like reminding them all that it was you and me that helped Harry with the Philosopher's Stone, and the basilisk, _and_ the bloody dementors. None of them.' Ron shook his head.

 _Wonderful_ , Hermione thought sarcastically. She certainly wasn't going to be allowed in the meetings if the others weren't, and she wouldn't even be able to complain about it, as she'd seem impolite to Ron's parents.

'Do you know when Harry will be coming? It's bad enough us not knowing anything; it must be driving him mad not knowing what's going on,' she said anxiously.

'Not for a while yet according to dad. I can't think why though; how is it he's any safer with those muggles than with us?' Hermione had been thinking about it since Ron mentioned it earlier.

'I'm not too sure, but I imagine it's something to do with the fact they're his family. Maybe it's some kind of protective magic. I don't know. I should really read into it.' This was just a theory she had, but she didn't have any idea how it could work. All she knew was that she couldn't think of any other good reason for Harry to have to stay with his awful relatives.

'How do you even come up with that, Hermione?' Ron shook his head. 'Never stop thinking you, do you.'

'You should give it a try some time,' she joked.

'Oi!' Ron threw his pillow at her.

'Do you know anything else? Anything at all?' She pressed him, pulling the pillow onto her lap.

'Afraid not. Fred and George are working on some kind of device to let us listen into their conversations though, so hopefully we'll find some more out soon,' Ron said eagerly.

'I don't like the sound of that,' Hermione frowned.

'Oh come of it Hermione, don't you want to know what's going on?'

'Of course I do! I'm just suspicious of anything Fred and George invent,' she said, and Ron began to laugh.

* * *

They were both laughing at (and Hermione sometimes shaking her head at,) some of the twin's past failed inventions, when someone knocked on the bedroom door.

'Come in,' Ron called out. Hermione was surprised to see a young woman stick her head around the door. She looked just a few years older than them, with a pale face and violet hair.

'Alright, Ron? Your mum asked me to come and tell you that dinner's ready… You must be Hermione!' She said entering the room and extending her hand, which Hermione took. 'I'm Tonks! Ron's told me all about you.'

'Lovely to meet you,' Hermione said, though she still had no idea who the girl was. She was a little too distracted by the fact that Ron had apparently told her all about her to be too concerned.

'Right, see you both downstairs! I know it's not Sunday but your mum's made a roast again Ron, and I want some of her Yorkshire puddings before everyone else nabs them!' She said excitedly as she left.

'Who was that?' Hermione enquired as she got up from the bed.

'Tonks? She's a member of the Order!' Ron said as he got up too. 'Honestly Hermione, she's so cool. She's a bit clumsy, but her hair alone makes up for that.'

Hermione immediately thought of her own boring, bushy, mousey-brown hair and frowned at Ron, admiration for Tonks clear on his face.

As it turned out, Tonks really _was_ cool, and as they talked over dinner Hermione felt slightly ashamed that her first reaction to her was jealousy. Besides, Ron was currently preoccupied with talking to a dirty looking little man named Mundungus, to whom Hermione had only been briefly introduced. Aside from them, all the Weasleys save Charlie and Percy were also at the table, but any other members of the Order that had been there that day had left without Hermione getting a chance to meet them.

'So mum, dad, anyone… Care to share what was discussed at your ever-so-special, secret meeting today?' George said sarcastically as everyone finished eating. Mrs Weasley shot him an annoyed look.

'Actually, we do have a bit of news for you all,' Mr Weasley said placing his fork down. Ron, Fred, George, and Ginny all exchanged looks of surprise.

'Are you serious? You're actually going to tell us something? I'll have to start asking cheeky questions more often eh, Fred?' George said.

'No you will not,' Mrs Weasley told him firmly.

'Yes, don't get too excited,' Mr Weasley said. 'We just need to tell you that a headquarters for the Order has been agreed upon, and we'll be moving there tomorrow-'

'Tomorrow?' Ginny asked, 'that soon?'

Hermione was surprised too. She had been looking forward to spending some time at the Burrow. Still, she supposed, the prospect of living at the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix was an exciting one.

'Yes. Now we've settled on somewhere, the sooner we go the better,' Mr Weasley replied.

'Where is it?' Ron asked.

'Only Dumbledore can tell you that I'm afraid. Your mother, Bill, Tonks, Mundungus and I know now, as well as the rest of the Order, but you lot will have to wait until tomorrow. Once we get there, no one will be leaving alone. We can come home occasionally if we must but we'd really rather that between when we arrive and when you leave for Hogwarts, you all stay put. Since we don't yet know the level of the current threat, nor how it's being handled, we thought we may as well take advantage of the Fidelius Charm to keep you all safe as well as to protect the headquarters,' Arthur said.

Molly smiled for the first time since the conversation had begun, and Hermione felt for her. All she wanted was for her family to be safe.

* * *

When they left the kitchen, Hermione headed for the stairs to go back up to Ron's room, but he grabbed her arm as she reached for the banister, stopping her in her tracks. She was disappointed; she'd been looking forward to spending more time just the two of them.

'Let's sit outside for a while,' he suggested. 'It sounds like we won't be getting out much once we get to this place.'

Hermione agreed, thankful that he wasn't suggesting joining the others in the living room, and went to get a cardigan whilst Ron went back into the kitchen. They met up at the back door and made their way into the garden. It was lovely in a shabby kind of way, with lots of wild flowers and trailing ivy; very different to Hermione's garden at home, which her parents kept perfectly preened at all times. Truthfully, she preferred this.

It was getting dark, but they sat at a little table beneath a tree that was lit up with what seemed to be hundreds of tiny fairies. Hermione was admiring them when Ron pulled two bottles and two glasses from under his jumper.

'Ron, what's that?' Hermione exclaimed upon seeing the label of one of the bottles.

'My dad's firewhisky and some ginger ale. What?' He asked, in response to her disapproving expression. 'We're practically moving tomorrow, he's not going to notice. Come on Hermione; You-Know-Who is on the loose. I think we can enjoy ourselves a little bit. Do some normal teenager stuff for a change.'

'You mean thinking of ways to defeat the darkest wizard of all time isn't normal teenager stuff?' she asked. Ron smirked. Hermione engaged in thirty seconds of inner turmoil before saying, 'Well alright. Just a little though.'

She had drank with her parents at Christmas before, and she knew it was a regular occurrence for many people her age (she'd seen many a bottle of mead passed around the common room after a win at quiditch), but she still didn't love the idea of taking it without permission. Never the less, she allowed Ron to pour her a glass, and had to admit that the warmth that flooded through her as she drank it was comforting.

* * *

'Let's talk about something other than You-Know-Who for a minute yeah?' Ron said. They'd each had a couple of glasses of firewhiskey mixed with ginger ale, and had been discussing their various theories regarding Voldemort and the Order. Hermione laughed. She found herself feeling rather lightheaded and quite tipsy. She noticed Ron acting the same.

'Alright, alright. Hm,' she paused, 'what else is there to even talk about?' She asked.

Ron looked at her and they both broke out into laughter at the very idea that they couldn't think of a single other thing to discuss than You-Know-Who and their impending doom. Through her own giggles, Hermione watched Ron. He was quite charming, she thought, as she watched his drunken laugh become a little smile. The more he drank, she noticed, the more difficult he seemed to find it to take his eyes off her. If she hadn't been drinking too, she felt sure she'd blush so much that her face would stand out even brighter than the glowing fairies in the tree above them.

'There's got to be something else to talk about,' Ron said when they'd both calmed down.

'Oh, actually, I read an excellent book last week about ancient runes-' Hermione began, half-joking.

'Hermione, I'd rather talk about You-Know-Who again than ancient runes,' Ron teased. They both burst into fits of laughter again. It seemed that firewhiskey made everything much funnier than usual.

* * *

Some time passed and they were both still giggling but Hermione couldn't quite remember what about.

'It's getting quite cold out here,' she said, pulling her thin cardigan around herself, wishing she could conjure one of her little jars of fire. Ron jumped up almost instantly, knocking the table in his haste, and attempted to remove his jumper. It was rather comical to behold, as he was struggling quite a bit in his drunken state. Hermione couldn't help but laugh.

'Here,' he said, when he finally managed to pull it over his head, 'put this on.' Hermione's laughter subsided and her heart skipped a little as she realised what he was suggesting. She knew it was a terribly cliché thing to get excited about, but she was pleased none the less.

Ron sat down in the chair next to her as she pulled his jumper on. When her head emerged, he leaned forward and reached around her neck to pull her hair out of the collar. Hermione looked at his face, right in front of hers, the light of the fairies above them reflecting in his eyes. Now that he'd freed her hair, she expected him to pull back, but he didn't. His hand lingered in her hair. Combined with the look he was giving her, this all seemed too much to just be a friendly gesture.

But her love for him was unreciprocated, was it not? Then why was he acting like this? Her mind went to the place she tried to never let it wander to: the Yule Ball. The pure jealousy he had expressed that night at the idea of her with someone else. She never let herself think about it because it was undeniable, but she always came to the same conclusion – if that's how he feels, why doesn't he show it the rest of the time?

 _Maybe this is it_ , she thought. _Maybe this is him showing it_.

His hand moved from where it rested on the back of her neck, and brushed a stray curl from her face to behind her ear. Her eyes were wide and her heart was racing at his touch. She wanted to respond but she wasn't sure how.

She found herself leaning in slightly, as though being pulled by some invisible force. She gulped as she realised Ron was doing the same. She wondered whether this was normal – sneaking parents' alcohol and tipsily kissing. Kissing. _That's what's about to happen isn't it?_ She thought, and her heart raced even faster.

She'd heard all the girls in her dormitory discuss this kind of thing – drinking and kissing. She'd never wanted to be anything like them until now. Ron's lips were an inch away from her own and his hand reached for her side. She could feel his breath on her face and his fingers squeezed her waist through his jumper. _It's actually going to happen_ she thought.

 _Crack_

They jumped apart as though electrocuted, as Fred and George apparated in front of them, laden with bottles of butterbeer.

'Alright you two? Thought we'd join you,' George said, then noticing the bottle on the table, 'Bloody hell, what are you on? Is that dad's?'

'Yeah,' Ron said, sounding slightly out of breath, and looking anywhere but at Hermione.

'I believe the legal drinking age in this country is 18, and you, Ronald, are not yet 16,' Fred said with mock disapproval.

'If you even think about telling mum and dad I'll have to let them know all about your Skiving Snackboxes,' Ron said quickly.

'Fair play. We bought butterbeers if you're interested, unless you're too good for them now you've tried the strong stuff,' George said, placing the bottles from his arms onto the table.

'Shut up,' Ron said embarrassed, taking a butter beer as the twins sat down opposite them.

'You're being awfully quiet, Hermione,' Fred said, handing her a bottle he'd just opened with his teeth.

'Oh, I'm fine,' She said, though in reality she was still thinking about Ron and what she was sure had almost been a kiss.

As the twins sat down and tried to engage them in conversation, the backdoor opened and Ginny walked across the garden towards them. As Ginny settled into a chair at the table and opened a butterbeer, Hermione had to accept that the chance to kiss Ron had gone. The other's weren't leaving any time soon, and even if they did she felt as though they wouldn't be able to pick up where they left off. The moment had passed. She just hoped there would be another.

As the twins and Ginny began to chatter, she chanced a glance at Ron. He looked positively alarmed and seemed to be avoiding eye contact with her at all costs. She sighed, settling for pulling his jumper more tightly around her, and imagining what would've happened if they'd remained alone for a little longer.

* * *

Thanks so much for reading! Please drop me a quick review if you don't think I still totally suck at this writing malarkey. It would really give me the confidence to get on with the following chapter!


	2. The Portrait

'Now, does everyone have everything?' Mrs. Weasley asked as her children and Hermione pulled their cases and various pets into the living room. There were murmurs of assent as they all lined up, ready to disapparate to the headquarters. 'Good. Well, we're not gone forever; we can always pop back if anything gets left behind. Now then: Ginny, you go with your father, George, take Ron. Hermione you can go with Fred. I'll take the cat.'

As they each headed to their disapparating partners and Mrs. Weasley picked up Crookshanks, Fred bowed to Hermione and offered her his arm.

'M'lady,' he joked. Hermione giggled as she linked her arm with his. She was almost certain that she saw Ron narrow his eyes at them before the room distorted in front of her and she felt as though she was being squeezed through a terribly narrow tube.

They appeared on a lawn facing a row of grim looking terraced houses. Ron and George appeared next to them, followed by the rest of the Weasleys and Crookshanks. Hermione tried to catch Ron's eye. Last night, when everyone retreated inside, he had gone to bed without even saying goodnight to her. Thankfully things had been ok between them over breakfast; it seemed that the two of them were acting as though nothing had happened. She had to keep reminding herself that nothing _had_ happened, as much as she would have liked it to.

'Now, everyone read this note from Dumbledore. Do not say it out loud. Just read it and memorise it,' Mr. Weasley said, unfurling a small piece of parchment he'd pulled from his pocket. He gave it to Fred who, after reading it, passed it to Hermione.

 _The Headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix may be found at number twelve, Grimmauld Place, London_ she read, before passing the paper to George. To her surprise, when she looked ahead of her in search of number twelve, she did not find it. Instead, she saw only houses number eleven and thirteen. Her first instinct was to look behind her to see if the houses on the other side of the green were numbered evenly, but before she could do so, the two houses began to move apart revealing another house between them.

'Oh my, I've never actually seen this charm in action before! It's amazing!' She said. As much as she adored books, Hermione was always eager to experience new spells in person where possible.

'What are you on about?' Ron asked looking from Hermione's face to where her gaze fell, clearly unable to see what she could see.

'George, give Ron the note,' Mr. Weasley said.

'Wicked…' George said as he passed Ron the piece of paper without even looking at him, his gaze fixed on the house that Hermione realised must now be materialising for him too.

'Come on now everyone, hurry inside as soon as you've read the note please,' Mrs. Weasley said ushering Hermione, Fred, and George towards the house, evidently keen to get everyone inside to safety.

'Whoa that's cool!' Hermione heard Ron say from behind her as he witnessed the house emerge too.

'Ron give it to me, I want to see!' Ginny exclaimed.

Hermione followed Mr. Weasley, Fred, and George up the steps and into the house. The smell of damp and dust greeted her as she stepped through the front door. She squinted through the darkness in an attempt to get a first glance of their temporary home, but it was too dull for her to make anything out.

'Now, I've been told we're all going to want to keep very quiet. Something to do with a painting, I don't remember exactly what Sirius said,' Mr. Weasley whispered as Ron, Ginny, and Mrs. Weasley (carrying an agitated Crookshanks) followed them into the house. The door closed behind them leaving the narrow corridor in complete darkness. The pitch black was quite a shock after the bright summer sunlight outside.

'Ron, is that you?' Hermione whispered as she felt someone close behind her. She hadn't expected the Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix to be this eerie, and she felt slightly frightened.

'Yeah it's me,' Ron replied, and she could hear a slight unease in his voice too. His left hand brushed up against hers and she could've sworn it was on purpose. She held hers there, not wanting to lose the slight contact.

'Right, the light must be around here somewhere,' Mr. Weasley said. 'If I could just find my wand… honestly I only had it a second ago…'

Hermione was going to reach for hers and use Lumos to help Mr. Weasley find either his wand or the light, but she quickly remembered that she couldn't do magic outside of school. It had only been a week since they were at Hogwarts, and it always took a while to adjust to not being able to use magic again. She wasn't sure she'd reach for it even if she could though; she didn't want to move her hand from where it was right now, her fingers brushing with Ron's.

'Here you are dad,' George said, 'Lumos.' He shone his wand over the wall in the hopes of helping find a light.

'Thanks, George,' Arthur said as he reached for a gas lamp now illuminated by George's wand. Before he could turn it on however, he was stopped in his tracks by a scream from his wife.

Everyone jumped back and scrambled for their wands, pointing them in Mrs. Weasley's direction. Hermione found herself pushed against the wall, Ron in front of her, shielding her from whatever his mother was so frightened of. Their left hands were no longer brushing against each other but were instead linked tightly together, their fingers interlocked. Their other hands were clutching their wands.

Seconds after Molly cried out, before anyone could do anything other than draw their wands, the screams of someone else erupted from the other end of the corridor. Everyone quickly aimed their wands in that direction instead, Hermione having to bend her arm around Ron in order to do so. As Crookshanks dived out of Mrs. Weasley's arms and Pigwidgeon rattled around his cage screeching, Hermione stood on her tiptoes to look over Ron's shoulder, trying to see from the dim light of George's wand what was making the awful racket.

Someone must have finally got to the light, as suddenly it flickered on to reveal Tonks trying to drag some curtains closed over the portrait of a foul looking old woman from whom the screams were emitting.

'Some… one… help me then!' Tonks got out between heaves on the curtains, and after getting over the initial surprise, Fred and George ran over and helped her force them closed. Everyone else remained motionless, apparently still in shock.

'What on earth was that?' Ginny exclaimed after a few seconds. This seemed to bring everyone else to their senses and they lowered their wands, looking at each other and Tonks with disbelief. Ron stepped forward, and in doing so, unpinned Hermione from the wall and broke apart their hands. Hermione straightened out her top and ignored the glances some of the Weasley's were casting in her direction.

'That,' Tonks said with one final yank of the curtains, 'is my auntie.'

'Your what dear?' Asked Mrs. Weasley.

'My great aunt, Molly. Any loud noise sets her off. What was it this time?' Tonks said.

'Mum cried out, but I don't know why. What happened, mum?' Fred asked.

'Well,' Mrs. Weasley looked rather embarrassed, 'it was that.' She gestured to a serpent shaped candelabra resting on a rickety table. 'In the light of George's wand, I thought it was a real snake!'

As everyone calmed down and with the lights now on, Hermione finally took in her surroundings properly. The peeling wallpaper and aged, dusty furniture were not what she had pictured when she thought about the Order of the Phoenix Headquarters.

'I… I'm sorry that I like, pushed you against the wall just then,' Ron stuttered out suddenly, 'I mean… I didn't know what mum was shouting about… and then that screaming… I know you can defend yourself. It was just like… instinct you know,' he finished quietly, rubbing the back of his neck and avoiding her gaze.

She wanted to tell him not to be sorry. She wanted to tell him how much she loved that his first instinct was to protect her. She wanted to tell him how good it felt to hold his hand and have his body pressed against hers, even under such scary circumstances. Before she could respond however, someone else appeared at the end of the hallway next to Tonks.

'You all got here in one piece then?'

'Sirius!' Both Ron and Hermione ran over and hugged him. Crookshanks darted after them and wound around his legs.

'Ah it's good to see you both,' He said wrapping an arm around each of them. 'You too, Crookshanks.'

'It feels a bit weird you know,' Fred said, 'seeing your little brother hugging someone who, until a week ago, you thought was a mass murderer.'

* * *

After explaining to Hermione, Ron, Fred, George, and Ginny that this was his parents' house, and that the woman in the painting was his mother, Sirius lead everyone down some stairs and into the kitchen.

Every step further into the house Hermione took, the more repulsed she became. She could feel the dirt in the carpet under her feet and each breath felt heavy with dust. As she took a seat beside Ron at the grimy table, she could tell from the look on Mrs. Weasley's face that she was regretting agreeing to stay here without seeing it first. As she looked around, she could see from everyone else's expressions that they weren't too pleased either.

'Yeah, I know,' Sirius said in response to the looks upon everyone's faces. 'But unfortunately, this is the best place we've got, for reasons the Order have already discussed. The kitchen here is where the meetings will be taking place. Plenty of room for everyone. When everyone else arrives tonight we're going to kick off with the new intelligence we received from-'

'This is where the _Order_ will be conducting meetings, Sirius. The Order. Not the children. No need to discuss it now,' Mrs. Weasley interrupted.

'Molly please, I wasn't going to go into too much detail,' Sirius laughed.

'Any detail is too much detail thank you very much,' Molly said with attempted finality.

'But mum we want to know!' Ron said. As much as she understood where Mrs. Weasley was coming from, Hermione too was a little frustrated that she was so adamantly against them knowing anything.

'-And besides, we're not children,' Fred said. 'At least George and I aren't. And I wouldn't usually say it but you've got to give Ron here some credit. Hermione too of course.'

'Just stop it with that will you!' Mrs. Weasley snapped. 'None of you are members of the Order so that's that.'

'Then why on earth did you bring us to this filthy hovel - no offence Sirius- for the rest of our summer if we can't even be involved?' George snapped back.

'Well,' Mrs. Weasley said trying to keep her voice steady, 'that actually brings me onto something very important that I need all of you to do that will help the Order significantly.'

'Really?' Ginny said, surprised, 'even me?'

'Yes you too, Ginny,' Mrs. Weasley nodded. Everyone sat forward in their seats, excited to hear what they could do to help. 'This place is going to be our headquarters for the foreseeable. We're going to have very important people passing in and out of here every day,' everyone was listening intensely now, 'so it would do us all a tremendous favour, if you could help us clean the place up.' Everyone's faces fell.

'You are kidding right-'

'-We can't even use magic-'

'-I'm sure You-Know-Who is terrified of a clean house-'

'-This place? Have you seen how filthy it is?!'

'Alright, enough! I'll admit that I didn't know quite how bad it was, but you all want to help the Order don't you? And this would help!' Mrs. Weasley said.

Even Hermione had to admit that she didn't like the idea of cleaning this place up at all, especially as she, Ron, and Ginny couldn't use magic. As though sensing that the conversation wasn't going well, Mr. Weasley interrupted.

'Sirius, do mind showing us all to our rooms so we can put our things away?'

'Ah yes, of course,' said Sirius, trying to stifle a laugh, as he led them out of the kitchen and upstairs.

* * *

Over the course of the afternoon, Hermione and Ron were introduced to many other members of the Order, and were happy to see some familiar faces such as their old Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Remus Lupin. Shortly before that day's meeting was scheduled, they had joined him and Tonks for a cup of tea in the kitchen. They were heading back upstairs, Lupin and Tonks ahead of them, when Hermione heard the front door open.

'Ah professor,' She heard Lupin address the new arrival.

'Remus, lovely to see you,' Hermione caught Ron's eye and he returned her look of excitement. That voice belonged to Dumbledore. They hurried the rest of the way up the stairs.

'I'm actually just on my way out,' Lupin said.

'You're not staying for the meeting?' Tonks tried to sound nonchalant, but Hermione could hear the disappointment in her voice.

'No, I'm on guard duty tonight,' Lupin replied, avoiding her eyes.

'Professor Dumbledore!' Mrs. Weasley hurried down the corridor followed by Fred, George, and Ginny.

'Hello Molly dear,' he smiled, and then finally noticed Ron and Hermione standing in the doorway of the staircase. 'Hello you two,' he said as he shook both of their hands. Hermione felt a little flustered and she knew Ron must too. Though Dumbledore often spoke to Harry, he didn't interact with the two of them all that much.

'We're going to have the meeting in the kitchen if you'd like to make your way down,' Mrs. Weasley said to Dumbledore, then directed her attention towards her children and Hermione. 'You lot, clear off. If I catch any of you trying to listen in-'

'Actually Molly, if you have no objections, I'd like a word with Mr. Weasley and Miss. Granger before we begin,' Dumbledore smiled at her.

'Oh… of course,' Mrs. Weasley said hesitantly.

'Would you care to show me to one of your rooms so we can talk privately?' Dumbledore looked back and forth between them. Both Hermione and Ron seemed momentarily unable to speak.

'Don't keep the Professor waiting you two,' Mrs. Weasley said.

'Um, right this way, Professor,' Hermione said, exchanging a glance with Ron as they made their way to the stairs. Fred, George, and Ginny threw them looks of curiosity and envy as they ascended the staircase.

'Here we are, sir,' Ron said as he opened the door to his room. He and Hermione sat on his bed, as Dumbledore settled himself on the edge of the bed opposite that was meant for harry.

'You must have lots of questions,' Dumbledore said giving them a look of understanding. Hermione and Ron exchanged glances with each other before seemingly being unable to help themselves.

'Where is You-Know-Who?'

'Are we safe?'

'Can we get involved with the Order?'

'Why is the ministry behaving like this?'

'When can Harry come?'

Dumbledore held up a hand to stop them before they could continue.

'Firstly, Harry will be arriving eventually, but until then I must ask you not to disclose anything you may hear in this house, no matter how insignificant it may seem, to him via owl. Anything at all. I know it's tempting, but they may be intercepted.'

Hermione knew that Harry wasn't going to like that. Ron glanced at her and she could see from his expression that he was thinking the same.

'As for your other questions… well I'm afraid there is only so much I can say. But rest assured that the Order is doing everything it can. I know it must be frustrating for you not to know what's going on; you've fought along side Harry saving his and many other lives, for which we are all thankful, and for which some may argue that you have a right to know as much as the rest of us. However it's your parents' decision Ron, and regarding you also, Hermione, whilst you're in their care, and I believe your mother just doesn't want you to have to go through anymore than you already have. And quite right too. Although you have done tremendous things in the past, you are still underage, and we intend to keep you as safe as possible in the future.'

Hermione did not want to argue with Dumbledore, but this didn't sit well with her, and she knew it wouldn't with Ron either. It must have been obvious from their expressions, as Dumbledore continued, his expression more serious than before.

'There is more to this than meets the eye. It is not simply a matter of you being too young. I promise you that as soon as the time is right, you will find out everything you desire to know. Harry too of course. But until then, I ask you to be patient. And again, I must implore you not to tell Harry anything.' He looked at them both expectantly.

'We won't, sir,' Hermione said as Ron nodded his head in agreement.

'Do you swear? Not a mention of this place, the people in it, or even a single word they may utter?' He was looking at them both so intensely, Hermione found herself gulping.

'We swear,' they both said. He looked back and forth between them for a few seconds as though contemplating whether or not they were telling the truth.

'Thank you both for understanding.' The serious look on his face vanished and became a smile as he stood up from the bed. 'Now for the rather more tedious matter of discussing things with the adults.'

As he pulled the bedroom door open, Ginny fell through the doorframe onto the carpet in front of them, as though she had been leaning on the door. She quickly got up, embarrassment at being caught eavesdropping clear on her face.

'Good evening, Miss. Weasley.' Dumbledore raised his eyebrows at her.

'I… I was just coming to see Ron and Hermione,' she said quickly.

'Well they're all yours now. I bid you all farewell,' he tipped his hat to them as he left.

Hermione and Ron sat in silence as his footsteps faded and Ginny stared at them expectantly.

'Get out Ginny,' Ron said.

'Charming!' Ginny replied, but seemed to realise that Hermione and her brother needed to talk, and so she left.

'Harry…' Hermione said after a few more moments of silence. She felt guilty already.

'I know,' Ron replied, guilt evident in his voice too. 'He'll understand though.'

'Will he?' Hermione could imagine how disappointed he would be with them, having to spend his summer with a family who were nothing short of abusive, whilst they got to be together at the heart of the action. To her surprise, she felt Ron's arm gently rest on her shoulder.

'Eventually,' he sighed. 'Don't feel too bad. At least he doesn't have to attempt to clean this filthy place,' he joked. Hermione gave him a small smile.

'As long as he's safe. That's the main thing,' she said as Ron stroked her shoulder.

'Exactly,' He agreed. 'Hold on a second, can you hear shouting?'

Hermione concentrated for a second and realised she could indeed hear raised voices.

'Shall we see what's going on?' Ron stood up from the bed and pulled Hermione after him by the hand when she hesitated to follow. She was reluctant to eavesdrop on an argument. They left the bedroom and looked over the banister to see three people in the hallway downstairs. To their great surprise, one member of the group was Snape.

'What on earth is he doing here?' Ron exclaimed quietly.

'He must be a member of the Order,' Hermione replied.

Snape was currently face to face with Sirius, who had hold of him by the collar of his robe.

'Please! I ask both of you to remember where we are and why we are here! We are on the same side. Honestly,' Dumbledore said, the authority clear in his voice. Sirius reluctantly let go of Snape. 'Now if we could please get on with the meeting like adults,' He said, ushering them into kitchen.

'I can't believe Snape is part of the order,' Ron shook his head.

'Dumbledore trusts him, so we should too.' Hermione said simply. That said, she wasn't best pleased at the idea of being around a teacher who mocks and bullies her for the whole summer. Thankfully he didn't stay for dinner.


	3. The House Elf

About a week into their stay at Grimmauld place, Hermione, the Weasleys, Sirius, Lupin, and Tonks were all gathered around the dining table for dinner. Hermione was engaged in a particularly enthralling discussion with Lupin regarding a potential cure for people bitten by vampires.

'I mean, whilst it does seem to be true that once bitten, the human part of the victim -one doesn't like to say soul but I'm not sure what else to call it - remains in the body, I read an interesting new study recently that completely contradicts that-' Lupin said gesturing with his hands to signify just how shocking this was. Hermione loved the passion with which he spoke about his subject. She noticed a small smile on Tonks's face and thought she must love it too.

'But that would mean everything we've been basing upon that assumption has been wrong!' Hermione interrupted, her eyes wide as she came to understand what Lupin was implying.

'Exactly! So the question is where do we go from here? We've been trying to retrieve the _soul_ from somewhere buried deep down in the victim, but what if it's gone all together? Do we have to start the search for a cure all over again, completely disregarding all the existing research?' Lupin said.

'That doesn't sound too good eh,' Ron cut in. She and Lupin both turned to him, confused. Hermione noticed that he kept adding to their conversation even though he clearly knew very little about the subject. She wondered whether it was to try and impress Tonks who was also straining to be involved in their discussion, despite being sat across the other side of the table.

'Of course it doesn't Ron, that's the point,' she almost snapped at him. She was enjoying having an exciting, intelligent discussion with Lupin and could do without Ron interrupting just to show off for Tonks.

Before she could reply to Lupin, the door creaked open. Hermione wondered who it could possibly be, and was surprised to see a house elf enter. He looked remarkably older than Dobby, with tufts of white hair sprouting from his ears. He slowly made his way around the table, catching the attention of a few people. Nobody else looked shocked to see him.

'Kreacher, must you come in here at dinnertime? We're trying to eat and it would a lot easier if we didn't have to look at you,' Sirius said.

'Sirius!' Hermione couldn't help herself. She knew it was rude to address someone so angrily in their own home, but she was disgusted that he'd talk to the poor house elf that way.

'Goodness Hermione, haven't you met Kreacher yet? He was my mother's house elf. I'm sure you'll grow to understand my dislike,' Sirius said with a laugh. Hermione began to feel very uncomfortable with his behaviour.

'Honestly Hermione,' Ron said, noticing her unhappy expression. 'He's a right little bugger. Scared me half to death sneaking around my room the other day,'

'I don't care! There's no need to be so cruel! Besides, please can we stop talking about him like he's not even here!' Hermione was feeling increasingly disappointed in the people around her, particularly Ron who whilst she knew didn't feel particularly passionately about elfish welfare, shouldn't be willing to tolerate and even try to justify such nasty comments. She turned her attention to the house elf, who had edged slightly nearer to her and was eying her with suspicion. She was hardly surprised considering how he was treated by the others.

'Hello,' she said to him kindly, 'I'm Hermione, what's your name?'

'It speaks to Kreacher! How dare it! How dare the dirty blooded thing talk to Kreacher!' he suddenly screamed, clutching at his own face. Hermione was taken aback. She saw that Ron's expression of mild annoyance had quickly turned to one of pure anger.

'Oi!' Sirius shouted, 'we're not having any of that you little bastard.'

Hermione had to admit that it hurt to hear those words said to her, but she knew it mustn't be the fault of the elf.

'No no, it's ok,' she said to Sirius, then spoke to Kreacher again, 'I'm very sorry if I offended you, Kreacher, I-'

'No! It speaks to Kreacher again, the filthy blooded girl who dares to come into my mistress's noble home and tarnish it with its disgusting presence! The vile, filthy, MUDBLOOD-' before Hermione could even react to these words, she saw a flash of red hair fly past her. Before she knew it, Ron had hoisted the house elf into the air by his throat.

'How dare you talk about her like that!' He said to Kreacher, who was now flailing his legs around and screaming about a blood traitor touching him.

'Ron!' Mrs. Weasley exclaimed, 'put him down at once!'

But Ron wasn't listening. Ignoring shouts from Mr. Weasley and Lupin, he held the elf fast.

'Ron, stop this!' Hermione said, and it seemed her voice was the only one he could hear, as as soon as she spoke the look of rage on his face faltered, and he looked in her direction. 'Please!' she said, and she could hear that the tears filling her eyes were evident in her voice. Ron's eyes widened as he seemed to come to his senses, and he gently lowered the elf back to the ground. After a few seconds of awkward silence, Sirius spoke.

'Get back upstairs, Kreacher,' he said quietly, and the elf scurried out of the kitchen. Ron sat back down. Mrs. Weasley looked ready to reprimand him, but after seeing the look on Hermione's face, Mr. Weasley stopped her. Everyone around the table watched the two of them apprehensively, evidently feeling too awkward to leave.

'Hermione, I'm so sorry-' Ron began.

'It's not me you should be apologising to is it!' She snapped.

'I couldn't... I couldn't listen to him say those things about you!' He said, some of the anger returning to his voice. 'Especially after you defended him, after everything you do for his entire species!'

'Oh for god's sake Ron! The poor creature is probably half mad!' She said, 'we're not talking Draco Malfoy or Professor Snape here, if you didn't realise! He's just an old elf who has been stuck alone in this house for years after living with masters despicable enough to teach him the things he was saying!'

'I'm sorry. I just didn't want him to hurt you,' Ron said as Hermione looked pointedly away from him. He attempted to place his hand on hers but she snatched it away.

'Well it's a good thing I don't feel hurt then, isn't it,' she said, though truthfully she did. Whilst she didn't think it was the elf's fault, she knew someone taught him to think those things. She knew these people existed in the world, but this was a reminder of how real those people are. The people that want her dead just because of her parentage.

'Well, we best get to clearing things away,' Mr .Weasley said after a few more moments of silence. Hermione stood up and picked up her plate, but Mr. Weasley spoke again. 'No no, don't worry about that dear. Those of us that can use magic will do the clearing up tonight, that way it will be done in no time at all.'

Hermione nodded, grateful for the excuse to leave the kitchen, and went straight to her room. She was feeling hurt by the words the house elf had said, but mainly because Ron, someone she thought so much of, could react like that.

* * *

After sitting alone for a while, absentmindedly swishing her wand around even though she couldn't cast any spells, she heard someone approach the door. Ginny entered with a cautious glance at her. Hermione would've preferred to be alone, but this was Ginny's room too so she could hardly ask her to leave.

'How are you doing?' Ginny asked as she perched next to her on the bed.

'Oh I'm fine,' Hermione replied. Honestly, she had calmed down quite a bit now.

'Look, I know my brother's an idiot, but it's only because he cares about you. He can't stand anyone saying or doing anything to hurt you, Hermione. Maybe he went about this the wrong way, but he had the best of intentions.'

Hermione sighed. Typical Ron; meaning well but getting it so wrong. She briefly thought about last year when he had asked her to the Yule Ball in a particularly unflattering way.

'Besides,' Ginny continued, 'he didn't hurt the elf. He just... gave him a bit of a shock.'

'I know,' Hermione sighed, 'thank you Ginny.'

'That's alright,' Ginny smiled at her, 'but do me a favour and speak to him soon would you? He looks a right misery.' She patted Hermione on the arm, and got up to leave. She opened the door but then hesitated and turned back to Hermione, seemingly unsure of whether to say what she was about to.

'He values your opinion, Hermione. Did you hear him when you were talking to Lupin earlier? He wanted to impress you even though he had no clue what he was talking about. He really does care about you. He just has particularly stupid ways of showing it,' and with that, she left.

Hermione thought for a minute. Was all that earlier with Lupin really him trying to impress her and get her attention? Surely not. Surely he just wanted to be involved or was showing off for Tonks. But then why would Ginny point it out? Hermione shook her head. That wasn't the most important issue at hand right now. She got up to go and find Ron. Whilst she was sure Ginny was exaggerating about how miserable he felt because she was angry with him, she still didn't want him to be upset.

She found him alone in the drawing room in an armchair by the fire. He was flicking through Quiditch Through the Ages with one hand but his eyes were focusing on the flames.

'Hello,' she said quietly from the doorway. He jumped at the sound of her voice.

'Hermione,' he said as he watched her walk to the armchair across from him. 'Look, I'm really sorry, honestly I am-'

'Ron,' she interrupted, but he ignored her.

'I've apologised to Kreacher - not that he took it very well mind. I don't think he even knew what I was saying he just kept crying about how a blood traitor like me was daring to walk the halls of his dear mistress's house, but anyway - I said I'm sorry and I know I shouldn't of manhandled him like that, I just-'

'Ron,' Hermione interrupted again. This time he listened. 'It's ok. I mean, what you did isn't ok, but I accept your apology. I know you didn't really hurt him. And I know you were just trying to defend me.'

'Honestly I was, Hermione. That's the only thing that was going through my mind when I did it,' he said, his voice almost pleading.

'I know,' she said, 'and I forgive you.'

Relief flooded Ron's face, but not for long. His expression grew concerned as he looked at Hermione. 'Then why do you still look sad?' he asked her. She was slightly shocked that he had noticed that something was wrong with her. When did he become so attentive?

'What do you mean? I'm fine,' She lied.

'Oh come on Hermione. I can tell something's up. Is it me?' he asked, sounding slightly nervous.

'No it's not you,' she sighed. She hadn't wanted to say anything but she didn't want him to think it was his fault either.

'Then what is it?' He asked, leaning forward in his chair, towards her.

'It's just... It's what Kreacher said about me,' she was surprised to hear her voice crack slightly as she said it. 'Well not actually what he said about me; I've heard all that before from the Slytherins. It's more the fact that it reminded me of how _real_ this is now. You-Know-Who is back, and people like Sirius's parents are going to be able to come out and say the kinds of things that Kreacher said with no consequences. And worse, they'll be able to act on them if he gets his way. People exist who want muggleborns - who want me - dead. And now they're closer than ever to having that as a reality.'

'Oh Hermione,' through her tear blurred vision, she saw Ron get up and move towards her as he said her name. She noticed him hesitate beside her as he realised he wouldn't be able to fit next to her, but then he tried his best to squeeze into her chair anyway, resulting in her half sitting on his lap. He lifted his arm and then dropped it again, but then with a look of resolve on his face he picked it back up and wrapped it around her and pulled her into his chest. She pressed her face into his t-shirt and reveled in the feeling of being so close to him and having his arm wrapped around her.

'I know it's scary. Truth be told, I'm terrified. I think everyone is. We've got something big ahead of us. But we've got Dumbledore and the Order. And... We have each other. You, me, and Harry. And believe me, Hermione, there is no way I'm letting anyone, and I mean anyone, call you names, let alone hurt you because of your blood status.' She felt him bring his other arm around her too and lightly stroke her hair. 'I may not be able to throttle any house elves, but that doesn't mean I can't hex any witch or wizard who dares to hurt you into next bloody week,' he joked.

Hermione laughed and lifted her head to see him better. He had quite the talent for cheering her up. He was smiling back at her, evidently rather pleased with himself for making her laugh. His expression turned slightly more serious as he brushed her hair behind her ear.

'I mean it though, Hermione.'

'Have you been secretly drinking firewhisky again?' She joked, surprised at his confidence with her; he hadn't been this forward since their last night at the burrow. A blush quickly spread across his face and to the tips of his ears as he realised what she was referring to. _That's more like it_ she thought as she smiled to herself.

She wasn't quite sure how to feel as she sat there in his arms, with him saying such loving things to her. She knew it meant far more to her than it did to him; he was just being a good best friend. Surely he didn't know that when he held her, or even just brushed her hair back like that, it made her heart skip and the urge to kiss him overwhelm her. He was just being friendly, like Harry would be if she'd gone to him with this problem. Then again, Harry had never held her quite like this, or done something as delicate as brush one of her curls behind her ear, and she couldn't imagine him doing so either.

She realised their faces were as close as they had been that last night at the burrow, and she almost found herself wishing that they did have some firewhisky, if that's what it took to give them the final push to just lean in.

'Ron, have you seen- Oh Hermione,' Mr. Weasley said as he came walking into the room. Ron dropped his arms and Hermione jumped out of the chair. 'Sorry, I was just looking for the paper, I'll just-' he cleared his throat and turned to exit.

'I'm sorry, Mr. Weasley, I took it earlier, I've been looking at it every day in case they mention Harry or You-Know-Who,' Hermione said far too quickly.

'Not to worry, you can just fetch it for me later, nothing urgent,' he said as he quickly tried to leave.

'No, it's fine, I'll just get it for you now, it's just in my room,' she told him, and darted past him as quickly as she could, avoiding looking at either him or Ron.

When she reached her room she sat on her bed and caught her breath. She held her hand over her heart and felt it racing and she wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. These little things that kept happening with Ron made her so happy, but she had to remind herself yet again that it was one sided. She dropped her hand and shook her head as she stood up to get Mr. Weasley's copy of the Daily Prophet.

'Stop being so stupid. He doesn't care about you. Not like that.' With a deep breath and a final shake of her head to snap herself out of it, she left her room.

* * *

Turns out the only time I like to write is when I have a ton of other stuff to do (anyone want to do my essay due next week for me?). I hope you liked this chapter, and the story so far. If you did, please, please, pleaseee review? I don't like to ask but I would appreciate it so much! Might make it suck a little less when I'm rushing my essay at the last minute because I spent the rest of my time writing this lol


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